NEPTUNE — Just because the wins aren’t coming with the regularity they have in recent seasons, don’t get the impression Fred Falchi’s Trenton Catholic Academy boys are a bad team.

They’re a young team, that’s for sure, and one that’s still learning how to be a great team like some of the past Iron Mikes squads have been.

“Every game we’ve lost we could have won, and every game we’ve won we would have lost,” Falchi explained yesterday as the 7-10 Mikes pulled away late for a 65-55 win over 8-9 Neptune, another long-established power that is also in the midst of a rare sub-par season.

TCA, which has only two seniors among the 15 on its roster, got 18 from one of them - guard Khalil Batie with 18. Freshman Marquise Bell scored 10, Tennyson Lewis-El threw in three 3-pointers in the first half to finish with 15, and soph James Wright contriubted 10.

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Falchi is still as fiery as he’s ever been, but now it takes five minutes of bellowing to get the results he used to get with just one or two yells.

“What’s happening is our kids don’t know how to practice,” explained Falchi. “We’re cutting our practices short because they don’t like to be out there, and don’t know how to practice. Because of that they don’t get to work on the things they need to know in games like this.

“Sometimes when we practice 45 minutes into it we’ve got all freshman and their minds aren’t into it. These kids have been working since August, and it’s very demanding for them because they’re 15-year olds. We’re not doing the little fundamental things, but that comes as you get older. They aren’t learning as well because we’re not practicing as well.

“They are better now than they were in the beginning of the season. I’m patient with them but they have to learn how to practice and make the most of it,” said Falchi.

“ou can never be satisfied unless you’re undefeated. We’re just not doing the little things right now. Any win we get is good. . This might be one of the most talented groups we’ve had, but talent doesn’t always win games.

“In the past we beat better talent because we out-basketballed them. We have the talent now, but we’re getting out-basketballed. If these kids can get the basketball end of it down we’ll be so much better,” said Falchi.

This game had four different lead changes in the second half before the Mikes came from four down to get the lead for good on Wright’s great spin move in the lane with 4:32 left, his two free throws a half minute later, and Batie’s basket off the delay game.

When Lewis-El drained four straight foul shots 33 seconds apart with under two minutes remianing the Mikes had put an end to a slump that had seen them drop three in a row and five of six, somthing Falchi hopes to build on the next two weeks leading into the Mercer County Tournament.